[eltd_blockquote text=”“All you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.” (Benjamin Mee, We Bought a Zoo)” title_tag=”p” width=””]
It takes twenty seconds to start packing your bags.
Twenty seconds to back your car out of the driveway. Twenty seconds to make that right turn and merge onto the highway. Twenty seconds to open your car door and take those first few hesitant steps towards their front door… A series of insanely courageous twenty seconds can lead you somewhere at first terrifying, yet simultaneously wonderful and life-changing.
Last month I had the privilege of being invited to my first ever Flickr Gathering, to go and spend a weekend with fellow photographers, imagining and creating art together. It was at once my biggest dream come true and, at first, one of the most nerve-wracking things I’ve done in quite some time. Being the classical definition of an introvert, the idea that I would get in a car, drive six hours to a place I had never been, to hang out with over thirty people, whom I had never met, seemed preposterous at best. In fact, the general reaction of my friends and family when told I was going was one of shock and slight disbelief.
But I knew this was something I had to do.
I needed to find the people who really “got me”. The people who knew what it was like to have this uncontrollable urge to grab a camera, a dress, and a tripod and run off into the woods to create. People who could see the potential for magic in a field of flowers at sunset or at the end of a rickety old dock in the pre-dawn light. And I found them, in Watkin’s Glen, New York, thanks to a simple facebook invitation from the ever-courteous Robert Cornelius.
We wandered through the woods and glens, hauling all our gear and props around like a giant game of dress-up or a giant theatrical performance. To see everyone grabbing a costume and a willing photographer-turned-model, running off into the woods to create their new world was energizing and, honestly, delightful to witness. Whether you were just watching someone else’s photo shoot, or creating your own, inspiration was spreading outward like the steady ripples in a pebble disturbed pond.
While I was there, I shot one mini-series with my new friend Victoria Stever. The idea for this came from one simple image that had been sitting on my inspiration board for quite some time. The image in question depicted a girl painted entirely in white, with the ends of her fingers dipped in a soft lilac hue. Knowing we were going to the Glen, I began to envision a girl with her fingers dipped, instead, in gold, turning everything around her to gold as she drifted between the waterfalls and tall grasses. It was almost as if I was telling the alternate (and much happier) version to King Midas’ story, in which the daughter was given the same abilities as her father, rather than being turned to gold by her father’s embrace.
The photo above, In the Realm of Gold, was the only image I had originally envisioned. However, as we started shooting, I found myself inspired by our surroundings and I found myself excitedly pointing here and there, telling Victoria to sit on this small boulder or stand between those two flowers over there. As we shot, my little series unfolded the story of a girl intrigued by her surroundings, wanting to add just a touch of beauty to the world around her. I felt mesmerized by the experience and even a little bit rejuvenated.
Unfortunately I didn’t shoot anything else while at the gathering, but as I said my goodbyes from the emptying parking lot in Watkin’s Glen, New York and began my journey back to Boston, my mind began to turn a million miles a second.The fading sunlight as I drove through the hills of upstate New York and Western Massachusetts painted a story in my mind and left me feeling both happily drained at the end of an eventful weekend, and ready to hit the ground running with a dress, a camera, and a tripod in hand.
** Words cannot express how thankful I am to my new friends for making me feel so welcome at the gathering. An even bigger thank you is also owed to the host, Robert Cornelius, who as a masterful storyteller, creates the most incredible images. You will not regret clicking through to his page HERE and taking a look. Robert is the kind of guy who not only invites someone once to his gathering, but TWICE after they chicken out on his first invitation (hint, it was me). Robert’s habit of reaching out to all who embrace the love of art and creativity is inspiring and and his providing a place for us to feel welcome has given many people the opportunity to find friendship with the type of people who truly understand them. Thank you Robert for being such a wonderful person! **
MADELINE THIS IS SO LOVELY! It really means so much to me that you overcame your nerves and did take all those 20 second leaps that led you to Watkins. It was so fun to get to know you better and even to get to shoot you! I didn’t realize this was the only thing you shot, I guess you’ll just have to do a bunch more at the next one. 😉 Anyway thanks so very much for all your kind words, it really does warm my heart to bring creative people together like that and just see what happens!
Thank you for being so giving Robert! None of this would have happened were it not for you!
And yes! My mind is definitely going 500 mph brainstorming a bunch of new ideas, so I think I’ll be taking a LOT more at the next one!